Piano Man
by Jan2StaMuse
Summary: Things are going bump in the night at the Montana and it's scaring the daylights out of Daphne and Niles. It's me so this is a One-Shot, of course.


**Piano Man**

From a very young age, David began showing an interest in sports- baseball in particular. It wasn't disheartening or surprising for Niles who was kind of expecting it. After all, half of his son's genes came from his beautiful wife Daphne whose loud and boorish brothers were the very epitome of a sports fanatic.

"What time did Dad say he was going to pick up David?"

Daphne emerged from the bathroom dressed for bed in a tank top and green pajama bottoms. "I think he said around four." She climbed into bed. "Did you remember to pick up that baseball bat David asked you for?"

"Yeah, I did. I went and bought it after work but I'm afraid I left it in the trunk. Remind me to take it out before I leave for work tomorrow."

Daphne nodded taking the bottle of lotion from the night table, applying it to her arms. "He's going to love it, Niles." She kissed him on the cheek. "I know he doesn't exactly shared your interests but I'm glad you're so supportive of his love for baseball."

And he was.

From the moment David asked him for a baseball bat instead of a baby grand piano, like he'd always hoped, Niles was more than happy to oblige.

Niles put his book down, sinking into the comforter and taking Daphne in his arms. "It's what Dad sort of taught us. Frasier and I always excelled academically but we completely lacked athletic abilities. He would put a bat in our hands and hurl a ball in our direction, and we would end up with a black eye. Me, especially." Daphne laughed lightly. "We just weren't coordinated for organized sports; Dad accepted that and supported us in our own interests without judging or criticizing. I want to do the same with David."

Daphne repositioned herself so she and Niles could be facing each other. "And that's why you're a wonderful father."

He kissed her forehead, then her nose and finally her lips. "Thank you, Daphne."

She snuggled in closer, sighing contently. "He's growing up so quickly," she said. "Do you remember how when he was a baby, you tried to soothe him to sleep with your BEETHOVEN FOR INFANTS CD and instead of falling asleep he cried. Louder?"

He chuckled at the memory. "I remember all right. But the second I accidently switched to a sports radio station he immediately settled down and drifted off to sleep." They could laugh about it heartily now, but back when Niles had made that discovery, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

On more than one occasion -before he and Daphne came together- Niles would sit at Nervosa musing to Frasier about the day when his child would sit in front of the piano asking for their first lesson. They would learn to play some of Niles' favorite pieces which would inevitably lead to a discussion about the history behind them. As a family, they would take their child to his first trip to the museum for a day of educational fun, or to the opera for a night of culture and entertainment. The possibilities were endless. But it was obvious David was going to grow up liking sports more than culture and Niles wanted to a part of it. Instead of dwelling in 'what could have been,' he decided to prepare himself for the day when David would come to him for sports advice or just to sit back and watch a game together. Niles then went to the only person who had more sports knowledge than he and Frasier combined.

After recovering from the initial shock of what Niles had just asked him to do, Martin immediately accepted and got to work on preparing his son for a fast approaching future. On a regular basis, they watched games together and Martin would explain, in great detail, each sports' extensive and complicated terminology. Niles made sure to take thorough notes. It was tedious work at first but pretty soon, and without noticing, the two men were beginning to bond over something neither thought would ever bring them together.

Three years later, Niles was still no baseball expert -or sports, in general- but he knew enough to confidently answer his son's ever increasing questions. On Sunday afternoons three generations of Crane men gathered at the park for their weekly game of catch. Daphne and Ronee always watched from the stands, beaming with pride as their men made that sweet little boy the happiest child on the face of the Earth.

"He's going to have a great time tomorrow," she said her voice a sleepy whisper.

"Yeah, and I'm getting better at pitching, too," he stated proudly. "I only hit Dad twice last time."

Daphne started laughing, not from the hysterical image forming in her mind, but from the nonchalant way in which Niles blurted these things out. "I'm proud of you... and relieved for Martin." She hugged him tightly then added, "Let's sleep. I'm tired."

"Good night, my love."

"Night."

The apartment was still and serene; the only sound came from the rhythmic ticking of the antique grandfather clock they'd purchased for their third anniversary. After much debate over where it's permanent spot would be, they settled on the spare room down the hall from David's room. It also housed Niles' beloved piano, which he played on a daily basis.

So, with the clock reading 11pm and everyone in bed drifting into a deep, peaceful slumber, why was Daphne hearing faint off-key piano playing? Was it part of a vivid dream, she wondered. Whatever it was, it stopped momentarily only to resume a few minutes later, louder and messier.

Within seconds, Daphne was wide awake. "Niles." It was definitely something be alarmed about, especially since David was so close to the spare room. "Niles," she whispered more urgently.

"Hmm?" he answered groggily.

"Listen." Even though he wasn't fully awake, Niles could clearly hear sloppy playing thundering through the halls. Either an animal was walking on the piano keys, or there was an intruder in the apartment. They turned to each other exchanging looks of concern.

"I'll go see what's going on," he nervously said, fear quickly rising.

"I'll come with you."

"No," he firmly said. "You wait here, Daphne." She nodded and watched as Niles stepped out of the room barefoot.

Daphne slipped out of bed, pacing the floor, terrified of the images her mind kept conjuring up. It was a fine time for her imagination to take over. How can anyone get into the apartment, she wondered, when the Montana was supposed to be an exceptionally safe building?

If they got out of this in one piece, she and Niles were going to give a home security system some serious consideration. To hell with consideration- they were going to get a security system and the sooner the better. Why chance another scare?

With palms sweating profusely and a heart nearly pounding its way out of his chest, Niles tip-toed down the hall, hoping and praying that what he was hearing was merely a figment of his imagination or perhaps a nightmare. But it was all too real as the sound kept growing louder with every step he took.

"Almost there," he mumbled.

It almost felt like he was in the middle of a horror movie where the ignorant fool walks towards precisely the thing that's terrorizing the characters. This was real life, though, and his son's room was way too close to that ominous and downright frightening sound.

Niles reached David's room expecting to find his little boy under the covers, frightened and crying. Instead, he was met with the door wide open, and as he peered inside, an empty bed. Panic beginning to set in, Niles ran inside. "David?" His worst fear had just become a reality.

The urge to run out of the room calling for his son was only heightened by the persistent banging on the piano keys next door. What the hell is going on, he kept asking over and over in his head. Where's my son?

Niles dropped to his knees and searched under the bed, looking for any signs of David. The only thing he did find was a tiny spider that nearly caused him to lose consciousness. "Get a hold of yourself." Getting his breathing under control, Niles scrambled to his feet and ran to open the closet doors.

Nothing.

In his haste to find David, Niles hadn't even noticed that the noise in the neighboring room had ceased. Under normal circumstances, that would've presented itself to be good news, but it only frightened him more.

Taking a deep breath -for courage- Niles stepped out of David's room determined to find him and who or what the culprit behind all this commotion was. "Where's a bat when you need one?" he mumbled.

With every step he took, Niles lost a little more of his composure as the gravity of the situation began to weigh heavier on his heart. It probably would've been easier had Daphne been walking beside him but he didn't want to put her in any kind of danger if that's what they were faced with.

The door to the spare room was ajar and Niles could see a surprisingly small figure moving about. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, thinking of Daphne and David - they were his life and nothing was going to hurt them.

Niles turned and nearly collapsed when he not only saw the door open but also found David standing next to him with a spreading grin on his little face. "Hi, Daddy!"

With a single movement, Niles took his son in his arms, embracing him tightly as relief immediately swept over him. "Are you okay?"

"Yep."

"W-was that you in there playing the piano?"

"Yup." Oh, the innocence of a child.

Niles, again, sighed with relief as the mystery had finally been put to rest. "It's late. What are you doing out of bed?"

David wiggled out of his father's embrace and ran to sit on the stool, banging on the piano keys. "I'm playing."

Feeling tired and a bit angry, Niles grabbed David's hand. "Come on. Back to bed."

"No!" he exclaimed. "I wanna play!" Another trait David had inherited from his mother was his feisty and sometimes stubborn temper.

"David." Niles used his firm and authoritative voice. "Bed. Now."

"No! I wanna play." He started banging on the piano keys again.

"That piano is not a toy, young man." His patience was wearing thin. "Now, you go back to bed or I'm going to have to ground you. That means no game with Grandpa tomorrow."

"No!" he yelled, jumping off the stool and running into the hall. "MOMMY!"

At the sound of her son's distressed voice, Daphne immediately stepped out of the room and saw David running towards her. His little faced was streaked with tears. "What's the matter love?" He jumped into her arms, burying his face in her hair like he always did when he sought comfort. "There, there," she soothed. "Where's Daddy?"

"Piano," he sobbed.

"Let's go get him."

"No," he protested, "he's mean!"

"Why?"

Niles turned the corner, shaking his head. "Because I wouldn't let him play with the piano."

"Oh." Daphne tilted David's chin up and kissed his cheek. "Is that why Daddy's mean?"

"No."

"Why then?" Niles asked trying to wipe away his son's tears.

David turned to Daphne, his big blue eyes welling up with fresh tears. "Daddy doesn't want me to be a piano man. I wanna be a piano man like him."

Getting the daylights scared out of him almost made this moment worth it. Almost. For the second time that night, Niles' heart skipped a beat. If he kept this up, pretty soon he would be admitted into the hospital for an irregular heartbeat but that's the last thing he wanted.

Images of a twenty-something year old David playing the piano like a virtuoso on the famed stages of the world flashed though his mind at an alarming, almost overwhelming rate. He and Daphne, seated front row and center crying tears of joy, were clapping like the proud parents they were as their son took a bow after finishing his flawless rendition of Chopin's Nocturne in G-minor...

"Niles!" Daphne's voice broke through his daydreaming state.

"Oh, uh, um," he cleared his throat, taking David into his arms. "You really gave us a scare but I'm sorry for getting so angry at you, son."

"And...?" Daphne said looking at Niles.

"And you can be a piano man like Daddy."

"Yay!" David clapped his tiny hands. "I wanna play now."

"Oh, no, no, no," Daphne said. "You can play tomorrow. Bed time."

The child was an obedient one so he climbed down from his father's arms, gave Daphne a kiss goodnight and trotted off to his room. David knew that when his mother ordered him to do something, she meant business.

"'I want to be a piano man'. Did you hear that, Daphne? Our son actually wants to play the piano!"

She laughed, nudging him back into their bedroom. "Yes, I heard."

Instead of climbing into bed, Niles quickly ran to his desk, rummaging through the drawers, and pulled out an old address book. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" she asked already in bed, yawning.

"My old piano teacher's phone number."

"The one that deflowered your brother?" Daphne still laughed at the memory. "Why do you want her number?"

"I want her to give me Mr. Hans Wilder's phone number." She frowned in confusion. "He's one of the most sought after piano teachers in the city. If I can get him to give David piano lessons, our son will be playing Fur Elise within a year."

"He is a smart boy."

"Exactly!" He climbed into bed, taking the address book with him. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"Really?" Daphne took the book away from his hands, setting it on the table, and snuggled up to him. "Do that tomorrow. Now, are you," she gave him a kiss on the neck, then the cheek, " sure you won't be able to sleep?" The way she arched her brow was a clear indication of how she was planning on tiring him out.

"Well," Niles kissed her, "unless you have any... plans."

"I believe I do... piano man."

**The End.**


End file.
